Jade Shakes the Thousand Mountains - Chapter 27: The Unknown Man

Chapter 27: The Unknown Man

Since it’s hearsay, it cannot be fully believed…

The moment Yu Chanyi uttered Wei Shengming’s name, the two disciples who had been pretending to busy themselves in the medicine field while secretly eavesdropping were both startled, worried that Yu Chanyi had noticed something.

Yin Hai Wei shared the same concern. He glanced subtly toward the tree with the corner of his eye, studied Yu Chanyi for a moment, then straightened his posture slightly and asked her, “Why do you ask about Wei Shengming?”

Yu Chanyi paused before replying, “I am a Sword Cultivator. I know of every past Number One of Sword Way.”

Observing her expression, Yin Hai Wei concluded she didn’t seem aware that the person in the tree was Wei Shengming. Realizing she wasn’t testing him, he grew somewhat intrigued by her question: “For a cultivator your age, it’s quite rare to know of Wei Shengming.”

“Tell me, what do you know about him?”

A faint rustling came from behind a very soft sound, as if the person in the tree had turned over before silence resumed.

Yu Chanyi had long grown accustomed to ignoring such noises. She recounted to Yin Hai Wei: “The former Number One of Sword Way, a disciple of Grand Micro Sect, master of the ‘Seven Killings’.”

Here, she paused and added, “Also the creator of the killing move ‘Annihilation’.”

Beyond that, she knew nothing more.

Yin Hai Wei waited but, hearing no further details, understood this was the extent of her knowledge. He sighed wistfully and murmured as if to himself, “Among the younger generation of cultivators, most only know of Lu Wenshu and not Wei Shengming. That you know this much is already uncommon. Only old-timers like me, who’ve lived over a thousand years, remember a glimpse of his former glory. Otherwise, who would recall?”

“I am not from Liu Province but from Ying Province. Both my parents were cultivators of Jade Tomb Ferry the fourth major sect of Giant Sea Ten Provinces. By rights, I should have joined Jade Tomb Ferry, not Grand Micro Sect.” Yin Hai Wei continued, “But when I was just a young child, I heard countless tales of Wei Shengming just as your generation hears stories of Lu Wenshu. Back then, every Sword Cultivator discussed Wei Shengming. In the Sword Debate Tournament he attended, with a single killing move, his sword pierced the heavens a feat unmatched for a century afterward. True heroes emerge in youth, and he was indeed the undisputed Number One of Sword Way at that time.”

As he spoke, a unique light kindled in Yin Hai Wei’s weathered eyes, as if he were lost in distant memories. The stern lines of his face softened considerably. “In my youth, I admired him, looked up to him, regarded him as the idol I would pursue all my life. I wanted to become a Sword Cultivator like him. For years, I trained with Wei Shengming as my goal those were the most passionate days of my life. To get closer to that goal, I even left my homeland and journeyed far to Liu Province to join Grand Micro Sect. After enrolling, I finally saw Wei Shengming with my own eyes. But…”

Here, Yin Hai Wei halted, his brow furrowing as if recalling something deeply unpleasant.

He seemed to struggle to continue describing what followed.

A tightness gripped Yu Chanyi’s heart. Sensing that something terrible had occurred, she pressed, “What happened to him?”

Yin Haiwei spoke again, his tone and voice exactly the same as before, yet upon closer listening, there was a hint of strain: “He was… utterly disheveled.”

He finally let out a sigh, speaking to Yu Chanyi with profound melancholy: “The first time I saw him after joining the Grand Micro Sect was about a thousand years ago, within the Grand Micro Sect. At that time, his hair was unkempt and matted, his body covered in wounds, stumbling as he tried to flee, muttering incomprehensible phrases under his breath half-mad and half-delirious, unable to heed any admonitions. There wasn’t the slightest resemblance to the legendary figure known for his profound wisdom and spirited demeanor.”

Yu Chanyi felt her heart sinking as she listened, and then Yin Haiwei continued: “Later, I heard people say he had developed a Heart Demon and had already gone half-mad.”

Yu Chanyi’s heart ached with sorrow. She had imagined Wei Shengming might have passed away, or perhaps left the Giant Sea Ten Provinces, withdrawing from all conflicts to live in seclusion in some corner of the mortal world. She never expected Wei Shengming would end up in such a state.

“Why?” Yu Chanyi urgently asked, “Why did he develop a Heart Demon?”

Yin Haiwei shook his head and said, “I don’t know the details, but I heard it was related to Lu Wenshu.”

Yu Chanyi’s expression changed: “Lu Wenshu?”

Yin Haiwei nodded: “It’s said that ever since Lu Wenshu broke Wei Shengming’s Killing Move during the Sword Debate Tournament a thousand years ago, a thorn had been planted in Wei Shengming’s heart. He had been famous since his youth, proud and ambitious, always striving to be the best. Within a year after the Sword Debate Tournament ended, he made a special trip to the Sword Inheriting Sect to challenge Lu Wenshu.”

“No one witnessed that battle. No one knows who defeated whom, or how the victor managed to win. But when Wei Shengming returned from the Sword Inheriting Sect, his vitality was severely damaged, his body covered in horrifying wounds. The deepest injuries had flesh torn open, revealing stark white bone. He had been wounded by an extremely fierce Sword Qi. If not by ‘Yinghuo,’ what other sword could have injured him so grievously? Without a doubt, he must have been defeated by ‘Yinghuo,’ defeated by Lu Wenshu.”

“Since Seven Killings was unsheathed, Wei Shengming had never been defeated. To taste defeat for the first time, and at the hands of a mere junior, defeated so disgracefully and so brutally it must have been unbearable for him. That’s likely why he developed a Heart Demon, descending into confusion and self-torment from that day onward.”

Did losing to Lu Wenshu cause Wei Shengming to develop a Heart Demon?

Yu Chanyi remained silent, Yin Haiwei’s words leaving her unusually quiet.

Yin Haiwei continued: “To my younger self, Wei Shengming was a towering peak his achievements were heights I could never hope to reach even with a lifetime of effort. But I never imagined that after entering the Grand Micro Sect, the Wei Shengming I saw was a madman who couldn’t even wield Seven Killings.”

“He fell from his divine pedestal, and for cultivators like me, who were inspired by him to embark on the Sword Way and held him as our belief, our confidence plummeted along with him. At that time, his downfall made even those of us who had followed him all the way to the Grand Micro Sect become laughingstocks.”

“I once resented Wei Shengming resented him for not remaining eternally upon the divine altar, hated him for collapsing after a single defeat, forever losing the hope of reclaiming the title of Number One in the Sword Way. For a time, I even stubbornly refused to practice swordsmanship.” Yin Haiwei let out a long sigh. “But later I understood the problem wasn’t with Wei Shengming, but with myself. I shouldn’t have entrusted my Sword Heart to another. From the very beginning, my aspiration to become the next Wei Shengming meant my Sword Heart was never pure enough. Its collapse is no one’s fault but my own. Someone who constantly blames others can never become a true Sword Cultivator.”

Yu Chanyi lifted her gaze to Yin Haiwei, noticing him slightly tilting his head as he stared absently at the fallen leaves beneath the courtyard tree. His features carried the weathered magnanimity and resolution of one who had traversed countless trials, yet the regret in his eyes remained undiminished even after a thousand years.

Since Wei Shengming had already fallen, Yu Chanyi too felt regret she had never truly crossed swords with him, never imagined the opportunity would vanish so completely…

Suppressing the lingering, unresolved regret and the desolate sigh in her heart, she softly said to Yin Haiwei, “But you have become an exceptional swordsmith.”

“Exceptional? I’d say peerless.” Yin Haiwei snorted lightly, his expression softening. “It’s a pity though. While I may excel as a swordsmith, it brings me little joy. I’ve only glimpsed the Seven Killings from afar never held it to feel its Sword Intent, never maintained it with my own hands. For a swordsmith, that feels like a life wasted.”

“And now it’s vanished without a trace, with likely few left who could even draw it. This wish of mine will probably remain unfulfilled in this lifetime.”

He turned to Yu Chanyi: “If someday, young friend, you acquire a spiritual sword and would allow this humble artisan to behold it, I would be eternally grateful.”

Still holding the Jade Sweet Spring Water and Chain Gold Mud he had given her, Yu Chanyi couldn’t refuse the man who had so generously bestowed these treasures. She nodded.

Seeing her sincere demeanor, Yin Haiwei thought: In this past millennium, he had encountered countless Sword Cultivators, but few possessed talent as prodigious as Yu Chanyi’s.

Perhaps Wei Shengming of old, or Lu Wenshu of today, displayed similar breathtaking brilliance in their youth maybe even less than hers.

Yin Haiwei faintly sensed that the Sword Way’s millennium-stable structure might shift because of this young woman before him.

But genius has always attracted heaven’s envy Wei Shengming stood as stark proof. Unwilling to see another promising seedling cut down prematurely, he spoke with grave concern: “Young friend, let me speak frankly with you.”

Yu Chanyi nodded. “I’m listening carefully.”

“A thousand years ago, when Wei Shengming stood as Number One in the Sword Way, Sword Cultivators worshipped him as an idol. During this past millennium, with Lu Wenshu as Number One, new generations of Sword Cultivators began pursuing him as their goal. But if Lu Wenshu too falls from the divine altar, they might become as lost as I once was. Young friend, your talent is extraordinary never entrust your Sword Heart to another. Cultivate your own Sword Way, temper your own Sword Heart. Everything else is merely external attachment to be discarded.”

Yu Chanyi listened with downcast eyes, lost in thought, when she suddenly remembered something: “Where is Wei Shengming now?”

“Is he still at the Grand Micro Sect?” she asked.

Yin Haiwei was taken aback, took a sip of tea, and said, “He left the Grand Micro Sect.”

His peripheral glance caught the black robe corner falling from the tree as he added, “Like Seven Killings, his whereabouts are unknown.”

“Then… he must be having a very hard time…” The sigh in her heart could no longer be suppressed, and Yu Chanyi frowned.

She thought her own fate had been turbulent enough, but never imagined that elsewhere in this world, Wei Shengming’s destiny was also experiencing dramatic ups and downs.

If Wei Shengming had truly suffered severe damage to his vitality, left the protection of his sect, become entangled with Heart Demons, and could no longer advance his cultivation, these thousand years would no longer be a trivial matter upon him. Probably Wei Shengming had aged beyond recognition, or even… perhaps… he had already passed away in some unknown place at some unknown time.

Indescribable emotions clogged her heart. Yu Chanyi frowned in depression, when a leisurely voice came from the tree above: “What’s all this talk about unknown whereabouts? Maybe he’s hanging from some tree like me?”

Leaves fluttered down continuously as the black shadow descended from the tree.

Wei Shengming walked to the table, poured himself a cup of tea, drank it slowly in several sips, first stared at Yu Chanyi for a moment, then turned his gaze to Yin Haiwei.

He said to Yin Haiwei politely and courteously: “On behalf of my junior sister, I thank Fellow Daoist Yin for gifting the sword – I, this black-hearted, rotten-livered senior brother who played the treacherous villain.”

Yin Haiwei responded with a sharp glare that showed no mercy.

In poor humor, Yin Haiwei snorted coldly, completely ignoring Wei Shengming’s presence, and only looked at Yu Chanyi, meaningfully advising: “Young friend, I haven’t finished what I was saying earlier. Don’t follow in Wei Shengming’s footsteps. Reaching the peak is certainly good, but we Sword Cultivators don’t take up the sword just to become Number One of the Sword Way. Don’t learn from Wei Shengming.”Before Yu Chanyi could respond, Wei Shengming took the lead in clapping and praised: ‘Brilliant.'”

“Don’t learn from him,” he also said to Yu Chanyi.

Then he blinked his weary eyes, which looked more listless than usual, and continued speaking to Yin Haiwei: “Fellow Daoist Yin, you really shouldn’t be so modest earlier. Being able to comprehend so many brilliant and useful truths, and not hesitating to share them – how can that not make you a good Sword Cultivator? Clearly noble and virtuous.”

His words sounded particularly sincere, but to Yin Haiwei’s ears, they seemed like mockery. Yin Haiwei gritted his teeth, suddenly stood up, and said to Yu Chanyi: “I won’t disturb you any further today. Young friend, if you ever run out of that Jade Sweet Spring Water and Chain Gold Mud, just come to my shop and ask for more. My apologies for the disturbance. Farewell.”

Yu Chanyi instinctively felt that he and her senior brother seemed to have some past conflict, making their conversation so incompatible that she, caught between them, didn’t know what to say.

Seeing that Yin Haiwei was leaving, she quickly stood up as well and saw him to the door.

When she returned, Yu Chanyi saw her senior brother – whose whereabouts had been uncertain for the past six months – leaning his arm on the stone table in the courtyard, half-propping his cheek with one hand, his eyes seemingly somewhat dim, lost in thought.

Noticing her looking at him, he raised his eyes, which gained a slight brightness, and then a curious, examining gaze remained fixed on her.

Yu Chanyi picked up the broom again to sweep the floor, feeling his gaze following her all the way. Helpless, she set the broom down and said, “Do you have something to say to me, Senior Brother?”

Over the past six months, even when they met, he hardly spoke a word. She had almost started treating him as a mute.

Wei Shengming tapped the table lightly with his fingers, watching her with keen interest. “You seem quite regretful to hear that Wei Shengming has gone missing, Junior Sister?”

Hearing his oddly inflected question, Yu Chanyi retorted, “Am I not allowed to feel regret?”

Wei Shengming said, “According to what Fellow Cultivator Yin just said, Wei Shengming is clearly a defeated dog. For a young Sword Cultivator like you, it would be normal not to know him at all. Why would you feel regret for him?”

“I want to defeat Lu Wenshu,” Yu Chanyi stated bluntly.

She lowered her eyes to conceal her resolute gaze what she couldn’t reveal to outsiders was that she not only wanted to defeat him but also destroy everything he held dear.

Wei Shengming asked, “What’s the connection between defeating Lu Wenshu and feeling regret for Wei Shengming?”

Yu Chanyi replied, “First, I’ll defeat Lu Wenshu. After defeating him, I want to seek out Wei Shengming for a spar.”

Wei Shengming suddenly stood up and approached her. He closed in until there was almost no space left between them, looking down into Yu Chanyi’s pitch-black eyes. His eyes narrowed slightly, as if trying to discern some clue from her gaze. “You speak of defeating Lu Wenshu, but with Wei Shengming, it’s a spar… Junior Sister, why do I get the feeling you strongly dislike Lu Wenshu? Have you truly never met him?”

Yu Chanyi’s throat tightened. She said, “Don’t you dislike him too? Have you met him?”

“Of course,” Wei Shengming admitted frankly, though his expression cooled considerably. He didn’t elaborate, but the complex emotions in his eyes revealed his displeasure at the mention of Lu Wenshu.

Yu Chanyi was taken aback he had actually met him. She said, “Can’t I dislike him without having met him? He’s the Number One of the Sword Way. I dislike him and want to defeat him. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Nothing wrong at all,” Wei Shengming said, already accustomed to her openly displayed ambition. He sat back down at the table, his face full of curiosity. “But why do you only despise Lu Wenshu and not Wei Shengming?”

Wei Shengming continued, “Yin Hai Wei told you so much don’t you think Wei Shengming is despicable?”

Yu Chanyi sat down opposite him. She said, “I know Fellow Cultivator Yin was speaking the truth as he knows it, but there are a few points that strike me as peculiar.”

“Which points?” Wei Shengming looked up at her.

Yu Chanyi paused, then said, “First, that Wei Shengming was no match for Lu Wenshu and was defeated by him.”

“Second, was Wei Shengming’s Heart Demon truly born because of Lu Wenshu?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Wei Shengming’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, as if he had something to say. But after a moment’s hesitation, he chose to ask, “Why are these two points peculiar?”

“I’ve said before, I don’t judge people by rumors. Fellow Cultivator Yin mentioned that no one witnessed the battle where Wei Shengming was defeated by Lu Wenshu. That means everything is speculation, everything is hearsay.”

“Since it’s hearsay, it cannot be fully trusted. At the very least, I don’t believe all of it.” Yu Chanyi’s voice rang like metal striking stone, her eyes glimmering faintly. “I’ve seen the killing move created by Wei Shengming. Even if this killing move has been broken, the fact that he could create it proves he’s no ordinary Sword Cultivator. At least in my eyes, his talent and strength surpassed Lu Wenshu’s at that time.”

To mask her thoughts, Yu Chanyi added: “As for how strong Lu Wenshu was back then, though I never witnessed it myself, common sense suggests that even if he could defeat Wei Shengming, the margin couldn’t have been too wide.”

Lu Wenshu was no mediocrity when it came to swordsmanship – this much Yu Chanyi acknowledged.

But if one claimed Lu Wenshu from a thousand years ago could have inflicted such severe damage on Wei Shengming back then, Yu Chanyi refused to believe it.

Lu Wenshu possessed Yinghuo, but Wei Shengming had Seven Killings.

What could Lu Wenshu possibly have relied on to make a Sword Cultivator of such exceptional talent and supreme strength suffer such a crushing defeat?

One must remember that during the years Wei Shengming held the title of Number One in Sword Way, he commanded more genuine respect than any previous titleholder.

The injuries Yin Hai Wei described – severely weakened, covered in wounds, horrifying to behold, with the deepest gashes revealing flesh torn open and white bone visible… Such damage couldn’t have been inflicted by Lu Wenshu alone.

After she spoke with conviction, Wei Shengming lowered his eyes and remained silent for a long while.

The sky had darkened, and lamps were lit in the Medicine Hut.

Wei Shengming’s face was half immersed in light and half in shadow, his brow seeming to conceal things no one else could decipher.

His prolonged silence made Yu Chanyi think he disapproved of her earlier statements. She continued: “Wei Shengming is the most talented Sword Cultivator I know of. He wouldn’t be so easily defeated, nor so readily trapped by a Heart Demon. Compared to Lu Wenshu, I appreciate Wei Shengming’s accomplishments and swordsmanship style far more.”

“The most talented Sword Cultivator?” A cold laugh escaped Wei Shengming’s throat at this moment. He suddenly lifted his gaze to Yu Chanyi, his eyes unusually agitated – like rippling water, yet also like sharp ice shards falling into them. Their sharpness was unbearable to behold, and his tone reached unprecedented cold severity. Mockery seemed to burst from between his clenched teeth: “Do you know there exists someone in this world far more talented than Wei Shengming? Neither Wei Shengming nor Lu Wenshu could ever compare to her! If not for… if not for…”

He abruptly stopped at his most agitated moment, breathing rapidly.

Yet Yu Chanyi failed to notice the abnormality in his emotions.

Because the content of his words truly shocked her – so much so that she forgot everything else. Yu Chanyi pressed urgently: “There actually exists such a person in this world?”

“Who is it?” Her eyes involuntarily brightened, her dark pupils shining exceptionally bright.

Seeing the radiant expression on her face, Wei Shengming’s heart suddenly began to convulse uncontrollably.

Yu Chanyi couldn’t wait, rapidly thinking aloud: “Since such a person exists, they definitely wouldn’t remain unknown. Their reputation must be renowned.”

Wei Shengming’s fingertips trembled violently.

Yu Chanyi asked with hopeful expectation: “Senior brother, can you help me find this person? Or could you tell me who this person is? I’ll seek them out myself.”

Wei Shengming closed his eyes, his face etched with sorrow in stark contrast to Yu Chanyi’s beaming delight. Though seated at opposite ends of the stone table, their moods were worlds apart one grieving, one rejoicing as if they inhabited different realms and spoke of different people.

Yu Chanyi continued her questioning, brimming with curiosity: “Is this person a female cultivator or a male one? How long has they been immortal? Which sect do they belong to? Are they in Flame Province? Or perhaps from Driftwood Province? What’s their name, and would they be willing to spar with others?”

A persistent buzzing filled his ears. With pale lips trembling uncontrollably, Wei Shengming cut her off: “Enough!”

His throat felt stuffed with cotton, rendering even these brief words fragmented and strained. He added, “They’re gone…”

His voice was unusually hoarse, the final syllable twisted with a tremble.

In the dim twilight, Yu Chanyi watched his chest heave violently, as if suppressing some overwhelming emotion. A glistening tear welled in the corner of his eye, poised to trace down his cheek before he casually brushed it away.

Watching the lingering damp traces on his slender fingertips, Yu Chanyi belatedly realized what the barely suppressed tremor in his final words “I can’t find it” had meant. Her heart jolted violently.

Was that… a tear?

Had he… been crying?